Propane gas for heat?? (house, heat pump, buy)

[pearljammer]

Can anyone tell me what they know or any experience they have regarding propane used to heat a house? Specifically a 2 story 2200 sq house. I'm not familiar with this sort of heating so would appreciate what you know. Is it expensive? (any more than anything else these days). Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

[saturnfan]

Propane is like heating oil. Forget the house if you must use this fuel.

[mm34b]

The only folks I know who use propane for home heating is for small vacation type cabins in very rural areas of the state. I believe around 13% of NC homes are heated by bottled, tank, or LP gas.

[saturnfan]

That can be a budget killer too.

[toot68]

It is common in rural areas. Does a great job giving quick heat, but fuel cost has gone way up in the last few years. When we replaced our furnace last fall we switched from a propane furnace (100% of heating is propane) to a dual fuel heat pump (propane is only used for heating when the outside temp is below 35 degrees). We saw about a 60% drop in our heating costs, so that will give an idea of the additional cost of using propane.

[rfb]

Propane is common in areas that don't have natural gas lines. You will find it in areas that are outside of the city limits but don't have the population density to justify running gas lines, and has nothing to do with the cost of the homes. Indeed, many of the homes in the triangle which use propane are some of the most expensive in some of the more desirable areas, such as many parts of the Falls Lake Watershed.

Discounting a house due to propane heat is silly. The efficiency of the furnace has more to do with cost than the fuel used to heat it. I've had homes with natural gas and propane, and have found the cost for heating to be similar.

[underPSI]

^Exactly right. My house is heated by propane. I have a 500 gal. tank that is buried on the side of the house so there isn't anything unsightly. My heating bills are the same as my last house which was heated by natural gas. The gas company can even put you on autofill so you don't have to worry about running out of gas. If you do purchase a home heated by propane, I suggest purchasing the tank from the company who currently owns it. This gives you bargaining power between companies so you can get the best price. It is illegal in NC for a company to fill a separate companies tank and they won't fill it unless you can show proof of ownership of the tank. When I first moved to my house, the gas company quoted me a price $1.20/gal. higher than the rest of the companies. They told me I had to use them due to the law on filling of propane tanks. I merely told them that I refuse to pay that high of a price and since their tank was on my property to come dig it up and I'll have a different company with a lower price install their tank. Needless to say they never came to dig up their tank and my price is matched with the current going rate in the area.
Just a little tip on how to gain bargaining power.

[rfb]

Originally Posted by underPSI

If you do purchase a home heated by propane, I suggest purchasing the tank from the company who currently owns it. This gives you bargaining power between companies so you can get the best price. It is illegal in NC for a company to fill a separate companies tank and they won't fill it unless you can show proof of ownership of the tank. When I first moved to my house, the gas company quoted me a price $1.20/gal. higher than the rest of the companies. They told me I had to use them due to the law on filling of propane tanks. I merely told them that I refuse to pay that high of a price and since their tank was on my property to come dig it up and I'll have a different company with a lower price install their tank. Needless to say they never came to dig up their tank and my price is matched with the current going rate in the area.
Just a little tip on how to gain bargaining power.

Do not let a propane company hold you hostage with high prices. You can easily switch to another company, even if your tank is owned by your current provider. The new company will do a "tank swap", giving a new tank to your current company for your tank in the ground, or will buy it outright from the old company. Both are common practice.

[pearljammer]

THanks all for your advice, we thought propane would just be tooo expensive. But.....we still haven't found a house............

[underPSI]

Like everything else with your house, if you keep the temperature at 75 during the winter your bill will be high. If you keep the a/c set on 68 during the summer your bill will be high.